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The Catacombs
Background The Catacombs can be found beneath the Temple of the Mad God, Tarjan. They consist of three levels and were apparently built by the worshippers of Tarjan. On the one hand, they are used as a graveyard, but on the other hand, the priests of Tarjan live there. On the second level, the private chambers of Tarjan's high priest Bashar Kavilor can be found. The Conjurer's APAR spell does not work on all levels. On the 1st and 2nd levels, you can APAR in, out, and to other locations on the same level. On the 3rd level, you can only APAR out; you cannot APAR into the level or within the level, you'll simply waste your spell points. Therefore, if you want to APAR to the 3rd level, you should APAR to the 2nd level where the stairs take you down (1 level down, 8 squares north and 11 squares east from the entry stairs). Map *Catacombs Level 1 *Catacombs Level 2 *Catacombs Level 3 Places *The Chambers of Bashar Kavilor (level 2) *The tomb of King Aildrek (level 3) Inhabitants and things to attack Most of the enemies the party encounters are undead creatures. All inhabitants (NPCs) are hostile towards the party. There are three unique creatures in the Catacombs. Unique creatures * Bashar Kavilor, high priest of the Mad God (level 2) * Bashar Kavilor's pet dragon Sphynx (level 2) * The undead witch-king Aildrek (level 3) Monsters and Drops by Level The weakest enemies on the first level are the tougher ones you see on the streets of Skara Brae. At early levels, you'll be particularly vulnerable to the wither strike of Wights and Ghouls, as well as the Magician and Wizard spell that does the same thing. Keep a monster in your special slot at all times to soak up some of the heat; your best bet is a Wind Dragon, but until you develop an 11th level Sorcerer, put whatever you can scrounge in to dish out a little more punishment and soak up some of the heat for your party. In general, prioritize Wights or Ghouls if they're in the A or B groups, and don't be shy about lighting off a Fire Horn blast on a big horde of them. On Level 1, there are two fixed encounters with Wights (x9 and x11) and one with Ghouls (x5). If you see any caster types in the back ranks, or in greater numbers than your front line can slaughter en masse, blast 'em in groups with the Fire Horn, STFL, DRBR, WAST, SHSP, or pick 'em off with ARFI or MIJA. Prioritize Magicians, then Wizards, then Sorcerers, then Conjurers. Drops on Level One are sufficient to equip each of your party with a Mithril weapon, shield, helm, and armor. Better yet, Level One seems to drop plentiful Fire Horns: keep a couple in reserve; your Bard will be using them frequently! Level 1 Monsters Beast *Wolf Type **Mad Dog - 180 EXP **Wolf - 256 EXP **Werewolf - 1024 EXP *Spider-Type **Spider - 150 EXP **Black Widow - 1024 EXP - Poison! Construct *Golem-Type **Statue Humanoid *Barbarian-Type **Nomad - 120 EXP **Barbarian - 200 EXP *Caster-Types **Magician **Sorcerer **Conjurer **Wizard - 1,536 EXP *Mercenary-Type **Swordsman - 512 EXP **Bladesman - 1280 EXP *Thief-Type **Thief **Assassin - 1024 EXP **Master Thief - 1280 EXP **Ninja - 1536 EXP *Monk-Type **Jade Monk - 256 EXP Monstrous Humanoid *Gnome-Type **Goblin Lord - 1280 EXP *Hobgoblin-Type **Orc - 100 EXP **Half-Orc *Ogre-Type **Ogre - 1024 EXP Undead *Wight-Type **Wight - 1024 EXP - Wither Strike! **Ghoul - 2304 EXP - Wither Strike! *Skeleton-Type **Skeleton - 110 EXP *Zombie-Type **Zombie - 512 EXP Level 1 Notable Drops Armor *Bracers [6] *Mithril Chain *Mithril Gloves *Mithril Helm *Mithril Plate *Mithril Scale *Mithril Shield Weapon *Bardsword *Mithril Axe *Mithril Dagger *Mithril Mace *Mithril Sword Other *Fire Horn *Lak's Lyre (MS-DOS Version, also Apple IIGS - confirmed) *Lightwand *Ogre Figurine (MS-DOS Version, also Apple IIGS - confirmed) *Samurai Figurine (MS-DOS Version, also Apple IIGS - confirmed) Level Two monsters are a bit tougher than Level One. None of the Skara Brae monsters are present; the lowest level are Swordsmen and Jade Monks. Beware the Blue Dragons, but otherwise, prioritize targets to take out casters and Wights like above. Don't wander into the Soul Sucker in the Southeast corner! If you find yourself heading East through one-way doors, it's probably a good idea to cast PHDO or APAR and GTFO! There is also a Stasis Chamber in the Southeast corner. Fun to visit once, if you have a caster with 7th level Conjurer spells to cast APAR to get you out! Level Two also offers some serious loot for once. Kael's Axe is a good frontliner weapon which will poison the enemy if the first shot doesn't do the job; the Blood Axe is a Hunter-only weapon and presumably increases the chances for a critical. You should consider giving your casters a Shield Staff, and give your Monk and casters some Bracers 6. Since it's the first ring available (other than the useless but amusing Dork Ring, which also drops here), get a Shield Ring for each of your characters. Level 2 Monsters Beasts *Dragon-Type **Blue Dragon - 2048 EXP - Breath Weapon! *Mad Dog-Type **Wolf - 256 EXP **Werewolf - 1024 EXP **Jackalwere - 2048 EXP *Spider-Type **Black Widow - 1024 EXP - Poison! **Spinner - 1792 EXP - Poison! Constructs *Golem-Type **Statue - 1024 EXP **Stone Elemental - 2048 EXP Humanoids *Caster-Type **Conjurer **Magician **Sorcerer **Wizard - 1,536 EXP *Mercenary-Type **Swordsman - 512 EXP **Bladesman - 1280 EXP *Monk-Type **Jade Monk - 256 EXP **Scarlet Monk - 1792 EXP *Thief-Type **Assassin - 1024 EXP **Master Thief - 1280 EXP **Ninja - 1536 EXP *Samurai-Type **Samurai - 1024 EXP Monstrous Humanoids *Gnome-Type **Goblin Lord - 1280 EXP *Ogre-Type **Ogre - 1024 EXP **Ogre Magician - 2048 EXP *Giant-Type **Stone Giant - 1792 EXP Undead *Wight-Type **Wight - 1024 EXP - Wither Strike! *Zombie-Type **Doppleganger - 1792 EXP - Can Jump Into Empty Party Slot & Mimic a Character! *Evil Eye-Type **Soul Sucker - 3,584 Level 2 Notable Drops Weapons *Bardsword *Blood Axe *Dayblade *Kael's Axe - Poison Attack! *Mithril Axe *Mithril Dagger *Mithril Mace *Shield Staff Armor *Bracers (6) *Mithril Plate *Mithril Scale *Mithril Chain *Mithril Shield *Mithril Gloves *Mithril Helm Rings *Shield Ring Other *Fin's Flute *Lak's Lyre *Lightwand *Ogre Figurine *Samurai Figurine Level Three encounters are a step up from the Level Two fights due to numbers and less frequent appearances of the weaker types enemies from Level Two: however, there aren't many new tougher types (just the two fixed encounters with Wraiths, and King Aildrek, who is a Spectre. As on Level Two, beware groups of Blue Dragons: their breath weapons can devastate your party. Be sure to cast REST if you get badly scorched! There are notable two fixed fights in the rows of rooms to the south near the stairs; one involving 36 Ghouls for 13,824 EXP, and another against 69 Wights for 11,776 EXP. In other words, you can make over 25,000 EXP quickly, over and over again, by fighting these two fights and going back up the stairs, then coming down again to repeat the fights. This can be a quick way to power level your party before pushing on to Harkyn's Castle (where grinding the Berserker Hordes can yield 168,960 EXP per fight to each of your party members)! Level 3 Monsters Beasts *Dragon-Type **Blue Dragon - 2,048 EXP - Breath Weapon! *Mad Dog-Type **Wolf - 256 EXP **Werewolf - 1024 EXP **Jackalwere - 2048 EXP *Spider-Type **Black Widow - 1024 EXP - Poison! **Spinner - 1792 EXP - Poison! Constructs *Golem-Type **Statue - 1024 EXP **Stone Elemental - 2048 EXP Humanoids *Caster-Type **Conjurer - 512 / 1,278 EXP (varies?) **Magician - 1,536 EXP **Sorcerer - 1,536 EXP **Wizard - 1,536 EXP *Mercenary-Type **Swordsman - 512 EXP **Bladesman - 1280 EXP *Monk-Type **Jade Monk - 256 EXP **Scarlet Monk - 1792 EXP *Thief-Type **Assassin - 1024 EXP **Master Thief - 1280 EXP **Ninja - 1536 EXP *Samurai-Type **Samurai - 1024 EXP Monstrous Humanoids *Hobgoblin-Type **Half Orc - 256 EXP *Gnome-Type **Goblin Lord - 1280 EXP *Ogre-Type **Ogre - 1024 EXP **Ogre Magician - 2048 EXP Undead *Skeleton-Type **Skeleton - 110 EXP *Spectre-Type **Spectre - 3,328 EXP - Level Drain! *Wight-Type **Wight - 1024 EXP - Wither Strike! **Ghoul - 2304 EXP - Wither Strike! *Wraith-Type **Wraith - 2,560 - Inflicts Insanity! *Zombie-Type **Zombie - 512 EXP Level 3 Notable Drops Armor *Bracers (6) *Mithril Chain *Mithril Gloves *Mithril Helm *Mithril Plate *Mithril Scale *Mithril Shield Other *Dork Ring *Elf Cloak *Fin's Flute *Lak's Lyre *Lightwand *Ogre Fgn *Samurai Fgn *Shield Ring Weapons *Bardsword *Blood Axe *Dayblade *Kael's Axe *Mthr Axe *Mthr Dagger *Mthr Mace *Mthr Sword *Shield Staff Resources *The Eye (level 3) See also * Link External links Category:Dungeons & Towers Category:Tales of the Unknown